A Dalcrest Winter Wonderland
by crowskisses
Summary: Dalcrest's charity winter wonderland got a new look this year when junior Elena Gilbert took the reigns. Rather than the stuffy Santa and unhappy elves of years past she provided a true college party. Drunken Santa, wild elves and a mutinous gingerbread.


Dalcrest's charity winter wonderland got a new look this year when junior Elena Gilbert took the reigns. Rather than the stuffy Santa and unhappy elves of years past she provided a true college party. Drunken Santa, wild elves and a mutinous gingerbread man made it the party of the year.

A/N: All in good fun, vaguely based on an elfish experience in college and a Santa Stumble. 'I love college' universe. Rough around the edges.

Once upon a time crowskisses went to college, she was a fun freshman and then she wanted to study in Italy so she became an RA to save money. She was one of the good RAs, the one who held your hair back when things got rough and handled lots of drunken shenanigans without causing a ruckus (she's got some great stories). Because of this she finds humor in the idea of our favorite characters drinking, but does encourage responsible alcohol intake in real life. Be safe dears and happy finals if you're still in school!

A Dalcrest Winter Wonderland

Damon opened the front door and wrinkled his nose: the scent of pine tree and cloying holiday potpourri almost overwhelming him. Turning a corner he almost smacked into something small and striped with pointy ears. Automatically he steadied her, looking down in confusion. "Why are you dressed like that, redbird?"

"Elena 'accidentally' forgot to tell me she volunteered me to be an elf for the campus winter wonderland." She did look quite fetching in the little green jumper with a red and white top underneath, pointy ears and a long elf cap pinned to her curls. She was also holding a beer and when he opened his mouth to ask, she shoved it at him, "Get me another will you? We're on our lunch break."

He went to the kitchen, finding a mutinous Santa was also drinking. Matt hadn't even bothered taking the fake beard off, instead it was pushed under his chin. "I'm not going back, Elena. That one kid punched me in the stomach..."

"Well you told him what he really wanted was a basketball, not a video game." Elena challenged, her own elf outfit looking prim and proper. She was in blue and white, her blue dress had large snowflakes running along the bottom.

Damon opened the fridge, "I'm sad I missed seeing that, Mutt."

He grabbed the last beer over Matt's groan, when Matt saw what he was holding he stood up. "No way, that's the last one and I need it."

"It's for redbird and she looks like she wants to jump off the roof." Matt grabbed for it and Damon held it out of the way, Santa pushing on his back.

Santa straightened up and frowned, "Well she is having the worst time of it. You should trade with her Elena."

Elena shook her head, "I like the kids and there's no way Stefan would let me sit on the lap of every guy who wanted a picture with an elf. She's just whining, you know she loves all the flirting."

"Bonnie is not whining, Bonnie just doesn't like being pinched on the butt by every guy who thinks he's clever." Red curls shook as she appeared in the kitchen, shaking her head. "I'm not going back either, you can't make us."

Elena put a hand on her hip, "Buck up Candycane, it's for charity and Santa stop drinking or you'll smell like booze."

"Aren't Santas supposed to smell like liquor?" Damon offered, fascinated by the little dynamic in front of him. "Every Santa I've ever known has had a flask..."

"That is a great idea! Let's have a flask, Matt!" Bonnie was bouncing, little bells jingling.

"No." Elena commanded, "You're not taking a flask! I won't let you two ruin this."

"Trade with me then, Snowflake. I can lead kids to Santa just as well as you can." Bonnie's own hands found her hips.

"No way!" The blonde elf shook her head, silky hair flying.

"Then we get a flask. Or we don't go back." Matt argued, already digging in one of the drawers.

"Where is this party?" Damon asked, "I have to see this in action..."

…...

By the time Stefan, Damon and Meredith, with a charged camera, made it to the evening part of the holiday party all hell was breaking loose. Candycane was giggling uncontrollably on Santa's lap and Santa was visibly drinking from his flask, not even bothering to hide it anymore.

"Hey there Snowflake..." Stefan tried to greet Elena with a kiss and got a death glare in return from a very, very frazzled elf.

"Don't even, this is a disaster." Elena looked near tears at this point.

"Anything we can do to help?" Meredith offered, shooting wide eyes at Stefan and Damon who were shaking their head no.

"Yes! Stefan, please make sure all of the kids are gone. They don't need to see Santa making out with one of the elves." She shoved a handful of candy canes at him, pushing him towards the winter wonderland.

Elena turned back to Meredith and Damon. "Try and sober Bonnie up, please. The football team is coming soon and they all get their picture with an elf."

"Weeeeeee!" They turned, seeing Bonnie whizzing down the winter slide. She landed in the cotton fluff and clapped her hands, turning to yell back up. "C'mon Santa!"

Elena pinched the bridge of her nose, taking a deep breath. "And keep her away from the slide, it _was_for the children. And don't let them fight with candy canes again."

"I'll take my bird, you get Mutt." Damon replied heading towards the fake snow with a smile. When it wasn't life or death situations he was quite indulgent of her drunken antics.

Behind him he could hear Elena raging over a list of things Matt wasn't supposed to be doing. "He's drinking, he's chasing Bonnie around and making her worse. He keeps taking off his beard."

"Redbird?" Damon called, watching her spin around twirling a giant lollipop she'd ripped from the ground.

Her eyes lit up in delight and she skipped over to him, jingling all the way. "No redbird today, in the north pole I'm Candycane."

"And how much has 'Candycane' had to drink?" He asked the pint sized elf.

She pursed her lips, thinking. "Well Santa has a flask and we refilled it at least twice. Let's go see him! You can sit on his lap and tell him what you want for Christmas."

He shook his head in horror, letting her drag him up the fake hill. "I'm sure Santa will loveee that."

She drug him straight past the line of giggling freshman who were beginning to trickle in, hoping to catch the eye of the star quarterback. Her voice was a sing song. "Santaaaaa, I have somebody special to see you."

The girl currently perched on his lap vacated the spot and went to get her picture, Matt turning blue eyes towards them. They widened at seeing Damon, "Hell no."

"I'm not sitting on you." Damon shook his head in disgust, "Elena -"

"Snowflake!" Bonnie cut in, correcting him and perching herself onto one of Santa's knees.

Black eyes rolled, "wants you to behave, so put your beard back on or suffer her wrath."

"No. It's itchy and Snowflake is a terrible bossy, elf. Santa runs the north pole, dammit." Matt raged, clearly sick of being ordered around and sat on.

"Tell her to go suck a candy cane." Bonnie chipped in helpfully as Meredith joined them. "Is it break time yet?"

Damon shook his head at Meredith, he had no words for this. They had both clearly lost their minds. Meredith raised an eyebrow, "Bonnie,-"

"Candycane." Bonnie and Matt corrected in unison.

"Whatever, please let Santa take pictures with the people in his line. Damon can help you with your line..." Meredith calmly requested, holding out a hand to help her off of the lap.

"Can't I just help Santa?" Bonnie pleaded, scooting farther onto Matt's lap.

He had one arm loosely around her, the other fishing the flask out and taking a sip. He handed it over to Bonnie, "I do need a helper."

Meredith grabbed the flask from Bonnie, pulling her off of Santa in the process. Meredith gently shoved Bonnie towards Damon, pointing. "Here. Take her over there, have her stand behind the chair or sit on a lap for pictures. I'll help Matt."

Damon obeyed the scary voice, taking Bonnie and grabbing the flask from Meredith. "I'm going to need that."

…...

It was almost an hour later when Stefan came over to where Damon was leaning, observing the elf in his care. Stefan's voice was concerned, "You do realize she's making faces in all of the pictures, right?"

"Si," the black voice was tired, but amused, he'd had to chase her halfway around the decorated gym to get her here.

"Ah," Stefan paused, watching another football player in uniform take his place. "You do realize these pictures are going in the bowl game program, right?"

"Si." Damon was even more amused by this fact, though Bonnie certainly wouldn't be when she inevitably sobered up and saw them. It would be sixty two pictures in a program printed several thousand times, a future of regret. Currently, she was giggling giving the football player a small shove to get him going.

"Just checking." Stefan shook his head, "Don't tell Elena..."

There was another football player, pulling her down onto his knee, trying to whisper something in her ear. Damon threw out his voice in warning, seeing the hand moving, "Don't pinch her."

The hand stopped and he let out a tiny sigh of relief, turning to Stefan to answer the unspoken question. "She's taken to pinching them back, hard." A thoughtful pause, "Though she did break one guys finger."

Damon produced the flask, taking a sip and passing it to Stefan. Stefan took it, watching Bonnie look at her line then at them. "I'll be right back. Little elf room."

"She's been going to the bathroom a lot." Stefan commented idly after a few minutes, taking a sip and leaning against the wall. He was trying to hide from Elena, from becoming an elf in forced servitude, or having to wear a gingerbread man costume.

Damon shrugged, "I'm fairly sure she spiked the egg nog in the break room." A delicate pause, "I know I sure did."

Stefan frowned, "I saw Matt pouring something in there too...oh hell. How much longer is this thing?"

"No idea, long enough that I'm starting to crave the burn of sunlight." Damon glanced over at him, finding Stefan commiserated. He cocked his head, "The elf from hell is coming this way if you're trying to duck out."

"Thanks." Stefan said hurriedly following Bonnie into the back of gymnasium. He could hear her and Matt through the double doors.

"At least Damon's actually helping with something." The elf said cheerfully.

Matt made a disgusted noise, "He's not helping you, he's standing there staring at you. Which is what he does at home anyway."

"He keeps giving me cookies!" Bonnie defended, before breaking into giggles.

Stefan smiled at that particular truth, Damon never truly raised a hand unless someone was in mortal danger. Bonnie seemed to agree, giggling, and the sounds of rustling. He took a moment to wipe the grin off his face, going in and finding they were sitting in the motorized sleigh the engineering department had made from a golf cart. Bonnie waved at him, "You hiding too?"

He nodded then shook his head contritely, "Just came to see where you went, you only have a few football players left."

"Nooooo." She moaned, throwing her hands over her face. "No more! I'm going blind from the flash!"

Matt shrugged helplessly at Stefan. He certainly didn't want to go back either. Stefan sighed, "But what about Ralph? He's been waiting to see you all day."

She shook her head, not removing her hands. Santa took pity on Stefan, "You adore Ralph, Candycane. He got you through chemistry and you know he's got jellybeans."

This got an eye peaking out, "He does always have jellybeans on him. Who else does that?" The other eye was peeking out and turning accusing eyes on Matt, "Why don't you do that? You know I love jellybeans..."

"And skittles, and twizzlers, and any other form of sugar you can find. C'mon elflet, you get to see Ralph and I have to deal with the line of ho, ho, hoes." He groaned, but pulled her out of the sleigh after him, both staggering slightly.

"You need the flask?" Bonnie asked Matt, ignoring Stefan.

"I thought Damon took it away..." Stefan interjected.

He got twin bleary, incredulous looks. Matt laughed, "You think we were stupid enough to only bring one with your girlfriend running around ruining Christmas?"

"Meredith, only got Matt's." Bonnie added, magically producing a flask from her skirt. "I can't _believe_ she got to leave."

Matt was pulling his beard back on, nodding seriously. "We came prepared man, after this morning..."

"Where we sober and heavily abused by children." Bonnie interjected with a note of finality, Matt straightening her wayward elf hat as they walked. She grabbed two cookies off a nearby tray without breaking stride, passing one to Matt before grabbing two cups of eggnog and repeating the procedure. She downed her cup like a professional, throwing it on the ground behind her as they came to the double doors separating them from their own personal holiday hell.

"Back to the trenches." Matt said giving Stefan a fake salute before turning to Bonnie.

"Mistletoe!" She declared looking up and yanking the blond head down to her level.

Stefan followed her gaze upwards, ignoring the very inappropriate kiss. There was something inherently wrong about a man in a santa suit picking up one of his elves to kiss her. There was no mistletoe, but there was a green growth that looked suspiciously like mold. The double doors swung open, revealing a very tired looking Elena in elf costume whose only response was, "Oh god not again."

She forcibly separated them, shoving Bonnie out the door with a harsh, "Get back to work."

Bonnie skipped away contentedly enough, "Oh, Ral-phhhh!"

She turned furious blue eyes back onto Santa, "You too. Your line doubled while you were sucking face. How many times do I have to say it? DO NOT KISS THE ELVES."

"Its only one elf." Matt muttered, shoving the door open and disappearing into the white.

She pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment, but none of the tension abated. Instead Stefan found himself the recipient of her planning gaze. "Don't think I didn't see you trying to hide. Gingerbread suit, because you did nothing to stop _that_. Now."

"They're dating...sort of." Stefan protested as she drug him by the arm towards the costume room. "He really likes her..."

"And she gets drunk and makes out with him, resulting in morbid Matt and confused Bonnie. I'm sick of dealing with both of those." Elena shot back coldly.

"Santa and Candycane." Stefan muttered at her, starting to feel mutinous himself. This was planning Elena on bitchy crack.

She stopped walking, turning to him with a sharp, "Don't even start with me, Stefan."

He said nothing, feeling guilty enough to let her drag him into the costume room. Guilty enough to take the gingerbread man suit she shoved at him. "Mike's grandma had an emergency so he left. Just walk around, look happy-"

Stefan glanced at the headpiece, wondering how he was supposed to look unhappy while wearing a fluffy smiling mask. She was going on, "and please if you see Bonnie trying to get to Santa, stop her. Keep her off the slide as well, and out of the gumdrop field...She keeps trying to eat them."

"Is there anything she's allowed to do?" Stefan asked, obediently taking off his leather jacket.

Elena paused, thinking. "Take pictures and skip around being elf-y. Let her be herself...but without, you know, being ridiculous."

"So don't let her be herself?" Stefan asked in confusion, dropping his jeans. He adored Bonnie, adored the enthusiasm that had persevered even as she lost her childhood innocence, usually adored that her thought filter only worked half the time. She was the perfect elf.

Elena sighed, giving him a tired smile. "You know what I mean. I'm sorry...this is just much more responsibility than I thought it would be. I know I'm being terrible. Just Bonnie and Matt..."

"Let them be." Stefan soothed, "They're going to do what they want and the tighter you try and control them the worse it well get." He paused, "They're both plastered, by the way."

She shook her head tiredly, "I'm well aware. It's just another two hours of the photo lines then the dance party." She paused, sighing. "Make sure Damon's discreet tonight...I don't want another haunted house incident."

He stepped out of shoes, making no promises on any accounts. "I think Damon will probably just ask Bonnie tonight. He seemed a little too keen on the elf ears..."

"Don't let him start that again." Elena sighed, straightening her hat in the mirror.

"Elena? Elena?" A girl's frantic voice came echoing down the hallway, "The chocolate fountain isn't working!"

Elena spared Stefan a fond smile before taking a deep breath, "Back to the trenches." Then she was gone, pushing through the doors, "Are you sure it didn't just come unplugged again?"

Stefan looked away from her fading, radiant silhouette and to the gingerbread man costume facing him. He groaned and unscrewed the top of the flask Bonnie had given him. He drained the entire thing in one fiery go. It was going to a long night.

…...

"Redbird, get down from there." The voice eventually came as he finally got caught up to her. She'd fled her line again, taking off like a bat out of hell.

Bonnie shook her head emphatically from her perch atop a fake reindeer. She just wanted to sit somewhere for a few minutes, a break from taking pictures with strangers and skipping around giving out candy. Resolutely, she took another lick of her candy cane.

The black eyes looking up at her were not amused, they were simply tired. "Get down or I'll make you."

She shook her head again, glaring. "You can't. We're in public and you won't cause a scene." He opened his mouth to protest and she cut him off, "I'll scream."

"You're going to fall." He informed her, putting one hand on the reindeer and wobbling it. She had to reach out and grab an antler to keep her questionable balance. He gave a half smile, tipping the reindeer even farther. "I'd be glad to help you down."

She flailed, tipping backwards, he caught her one hand encircling her waist as the reindeer crashed down. It hit a nearby reindeer, beginning a terrible domino reindeers falling the reins between them pulling subsequent reindeers down. When he finally set her down she looked around, finding people were staring in their direction, then back to the field of fallen reindeer. "It looks we shot them all."

Then she started to giggle, giggle so uncontrollably that she slid down Damon and into the fake snow, the bells on her hat jingling as well. He squatted down next to her, smiling with his own repressed chuckle. "Snowflake is going to kill you."

That only made her giggle harder, knowing that somewhere in this winter wonderland an apoplectic Elena was being told about the fall of the reindeer.

"First you broke the toy train and now the reindeer..." He laughed, settling into the fluffy snow next to her. They were in the farthest corner of the gym, the most desolate area of the winter wonderland where all of the extra decorations had been thrown together in a mishmash. Damon leaned back on one elbow, taking a sip from his flask, apparently listening intently to the music.

She watched the college students move by, turning towards the fake hill Matt was still trapped on. He was a lone figure at the top, a beacon of red with a long line leading up to him like some sort of Aztec god. The night felt surprisingly still around her for the first time. Damon reached out and touched her shoulder, pointing up. "Mistletoe."

"Oh." She exhaled, looking at one of the many dangling bunches of mistletoe she'd been using to kiss Matt all night, but that was Matt and this was Damon and they were two very different things. Kissing Matt was fun while kissing Damon was dangerous.

Still the fingers on her chin were gentle and the black eyes coming closer were swimming with stars. He kissed her chastely and when she didn't pull away after a moment, he deepened the kiss. She was helpless against this, helpless against feelings for him that he was well aware of, she melted letting him lean her against the fallen reindeer. He pulled back slightly, black eyes searching for any resistance and finding none turned her head to the side. "You taste like peppermint."

"I-" she tried to protest, but the fangs were already scraping her neck, piercing quickly. It was the familiar rush of his mind against hers, the usual stillness in him filled with something she didn't have time to recognize. He pulled away at the first sound of footsteps, wiping his mouth and pulling her to her feet in one motion.

It was just a couple, holding hands and stealing kisses as they walked. Bonnie pulled out of his arms, taking a step back and pressing fingers to her neck. The black eyes turned back to her, understanding dawning there. "You didn't want me to do that."

"No." It had to be the stinging pain in her neck causing the burning sensation in her eyes. It wasn't the image in her mind, a prophecy of lips meeting under mistletoe, black hair and blonde bent together. She took another step back, panic bursting. "I...I have to get out of here."

He didn't try and stop her as she made her way towards the hill with staggering steps, didn't follow as she saw Elena coming towards her looking furious. She looked at Elena, blocking the way out of the building and back towards the break room. "Stay right there, Candycane!"

She froze, jumping at the tap on her shoulder. "Can I get a picture?"

She looked back at Elena, descending down the hill, back to the innocent group of boys and ran towards the break room. She could not take one more second of this.

…...

Even though he didn't have to breathe, the head of the gingerbread man was making Stefan claustrophobic. His predatory instincts did not like the narrowed worldview the eye slits offered, his shyness hated the picture taking and teasing of the patrons. The only good thing was Elena couldn't see that his eyes were rolling.

She was irate, "He bit her. Over there, in full view of people. I told you not to let it happen!"

"I was fixing the train set, with no opposable thumbs." He held up the mittened hands at her in aggravation.

It made no difference, "Stefan, just go fix the-"

There was a crash and they turned towards the back of the gym where there was another crash, the doors to the back hallway flying open. The motorized sled came roaring through them, driven by a maniacal looking Candycane. Elena was speechless for a moment, watching as the sled turned sharply, knocking over a display. "Oh, god."

The converted golf cart screeched to a halt, not terribly far from them, but Bonnie was looking up the hill of bleachers covered in white. Her voice was frantic, "Santa? Matt!"

"What are you doing, Candycane?" He was looking down over the edge, an amazed expression on his face.

She shot Stefan and Elena a worried glance and waved at him, "Escaping! C'mon."

Matt didn't hesitate, he jumped from the bleachers leaving a dazed group of onlookers on top of the north pole. He jumped into the passenger seat, grabbing the bag of presents. "Gun it!"

She did and Stefan took one look at the redness rising in Elena's face, the fury in those blue eyes and found himself running after them. "Wait for me! Wait for me..."

…...

Damon watched in utter amazement as the gingerbread man desperately chased the elf driven sleigh. He managed to get his cell phone out as it screeched to an abrupt stop, the gingerbread man jumping onto the back standing platform and grasping with gum drop hands. "Go! Go, go go!"

Candycane floored it, swerving wildly through the winter wonderland with people jumping out of the way. Santa was laughing, throwing presents quite hard at girls not dressed for the weather "Ho! Ho! Ho!"

They turned again, doubling back around in a wild u – turn, Santa grabbing at a plate of cookies on the snack table. The cookies went flying as they sped on, heading straight for the double doors. Various voices coming from the fleeing cart. An indentured elf was yelling, "Freedom!"

They burst through the doors, going off into the night with Santa's voice echoing back to them. "Happy Holidays, Dalcrest!"

There was a beat of silence then gymnasium burst into cheers around Damon, though through the crowd he could see Snowflake the elf ripping off her hat and stomping on it. He took one look at her, at the opportunity there, and decided he'd rather be wherever the escapists were. He left quietly and freedom had never tasted so sweet, so sickeningly like eggnog with a burning aftertaste.

…...

The wild euphoria of escape lasted them as the sleigh sped across campus, lasted as snow began to fall. Bonnie pulled the cart over, laughing too wildly to drive. Santa hugged her, "I've never been so happy to see you driving in my life."

A big smack against her still laughing lips, "You're a genius."

"That she is." Stefan said, his voice muffled, "But can you drive, Matt? She's making me feel sick..."

So Santa took the reins of his sleigh back, feeling completely invincible as they turned off the sidewalk and onto the regular road. Bonnie started a profane rendition of jingle bells at the top of her lungs, and Stefan found himself too ecstatic to not join in. The wild euphoria lasted until the sobering sound of sirens behind them, blue and red lights flashing across their sled. Matt pulled over quickly, a muttered, "Oh shit."

They sat there in a tense silence as they waited for the sound of a car door opening, steps crunching in the snow. The officer looked down at Matt, sternly. "License and registration."

"Uh," Matt looked down at the red velvet pants, offering a weak, "they're in my other pants."

The officer laughed, sternness breaking. "I'm just kidding. I just wanted to see if this was really happening. I've been on the force for ten years and never seen anything like this..."

"Uh, well, we're just you know, practicing for the parade?" Matt offered, a jumble of words in a weak explanation.

"With the gingerbread man? Santa and elf I get..." The office asked, eyeing them a little more closely.

"Well what if Santa got hungry? Ginger's a snack!" Bonnie offered, her voice sickeningly cute as she leaned over Matt. She batted eyelashes at the officer, "Do you want a picture?"

"Hey that's a great idea,...?" He drug out waiting for a name.

"Candycane." She said promptly, "Santa's favorite elf."

"I bet you are. Let me get my partner and a camera." Then he was jogging back to his cop car.

"You are a true genius." Stefan said to Bonnie affectionately.

The cop reappeared and they posed twice more, one of the cops asking the most pertinent question. "Which bar are you guys going to? We get off in an hour."

Large brown eyes looked into blue ones, peered into gumdrop eyes, "Up for it? We've had a long day..."

Santa shook his head enthusiastically, "Scholars." He pumped his fist into the air, "Let's spread some holiday cheer, damnit."

"To the bar!" Bonnie cheered, her alter ego Candycane asserting herself forcefully. "Candy canes and pictures for all!"

"To the bar!" Stefan echoed. Deciding if he was stuck in this costume, which he was since he couldn't unzip it himself, he might as well be drunker than he was.

"To the bar!" Santa cheered, turning back to the policeman with a Virginian politeness, "Can we get an escort there?"

"If Candycane over there will let me buy her a drink..."

"She sure will." The elf replied, eyelashes batting over Santa's frown. Tonight she was Candycane, a relentless flirt and a wild elf let free. At the bar nobody would stop her from eating gumdrops if she wanted, nobody would say she couldn't dance, at the bar she could forget her entire elfish experience.

…...

Bonnie woke up to the sound of screams, frantic and high pitched, pausing for an intake of breath as she regained a bit more of herself, eyes opening. She was on something soft and cushy, encased in arms and wrapped in warmth. She pressed up on one arm, looking blearily at the vague brown mass with odd markings under her, "What...?"

Another scream had her turning towards the screams: a heartbroken child staring at Santa facedown in the front yard. "Daddddddyyyyyyyy! Santa's dead! Santa's dead!"

"Oh gosh." She muttered sitting up with a raging headache, staring intently at Matt. Still there was a door slamming next door, frantic footsteps and an upset father grabbing at his small daughter who was innocently clutching the newspaper to her chest. Why had adults chosen to live near them again?

The man blanched, panic flashing into abrupt anger. "Honeycutt, what the hell?"

Matt's head lifted, a long groan escaping as he pushed himself out of the snow. Bleary blue eyes looked up into their philosophy teacher's eyes. "Oh shit."

Matt sat fully up, pushing up on frozen arms with another groan, "Double shit. Professor Mcreary, I'm sorry..."

Bonnie giggled, unable to stifle the sound, causing the furious eyes to turn her way. "Miss McCullough don't think I don't see you in that sleigh..."

"Oh shit." She muttered, she was not doing well in philosophy at all. Professor Mcreary took attendance and she'd missed over a week after Thanksgiving and he'd been very unforgiving despite the circumstances.

She glanced down at a soft moan, finding her soft pillow was a gingerbread man with oak green eyes. Green eyes that were not her usual partner in crime, no black irises or cornflower blue supporting her. "Oh...Double shit."

"Elena?" The confused green eyes asked, a spare hand finding his forehead with a groan.

She shook her head, feeling shame wash over her. "No, but she's going to _kill_ us."

"Oh shit." He murmured, sitting up and taking her with him so that he could see the yard. The professor was carrying his daughter away, Matt trying to brush the snow off his santa costume.

"What happened?" Stefan asked, his voice hoarse and wondering. How had he ended up in the sled, clutching Bonnie while Matt slept facedown not six feet away?

"No idea." She replied, trying to untangle the blanket around their legs. It was no use, they were wrapped up in it, held warm by someone who had felt inclined to cover them.

"I...don't know." Matt replied, yanking the fake beard off and rubbing his face. He looked rough, downright terrible. "I just want breakfast and a warm bed." Another pause, "And an advil."

"Double shit." Stefan murmured glancing up at the house and the blond silhouette in an upper window. Elena was staring down at them dispassionately, blue eyes icy. Her eyes seeming to stare past Bonnie and Stefan, onto the third unnoticed figure in the sleigh. He was facedown, much like Santa was, with reindeer antlers mussing black hair.

"Shit." Stefan murmured again his eyes following blue, poking Damon with a hesitant foot. He twitched, but didn't waken.

Bonnie reached up, tracing practiced fingers down her neck as Matt staggered towards them. She frowned at what she found, there were definitely fresh marks in her neck. Damon groaned into consciousness, pushing up like Matt had, "Shit..I feel awful."

He sat up, rubbing his face and looking at them with bleary yet all too observant eyes. His eyes landed on her, his gaze digging deeper than the elf costume and still drunken state she was in. The black eyes darkened and she could suddenly feel the vampire blood coursing through her system, the extra tangy sharpness to the morning a testament to a night gone too far. His soft exhale might have been a sigh, but it was a whisper under his breath, "Double shit."

She frowned collapsing softly back onto her ginger-bed, finding herself unable to compute all of this. She looked at each of them in turn: weary green, muddled blue and contrite black. "I'm...I'm going back to bed. Wake me when its time for finals."

…...


End file.
